that nothing happened, but everyone else thinks that something did,” I continued. “I am ... forever sorry to have hurt you again.”
When I found the courage to meet his gaze, I found amusement rather than fury waiting for me. “This isn’t funny,” I said, straightening.
“It’s not funny,” he agreed. “But that prudish streak of yours always did make me laugh. You’re not to blame for this. I am. I knew after the first date that things weren’t going to work out with Monica. I kept her dangling despite everything, and that wasn’t fair to anyone concerned.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. “If you didn’t like her, why did you stay with her?”
He pinned me with an incredulous look. “Seriously? I should think that would be rather obvious.”
“You did it because of me.” It was a statement, not a question. “You wanted to send a clear message so I would stay away from you.”
“No, I wanted to send a clear message that I wasn’t pining for you,” he clarified. “I knew keeping distance between us probably wasn’t going to happen. I just felt like I couldn’t breathe when I heard you were coming back.”
“You acted surprised when you first saw me.”
“I was surprised that you were barely back and had already found trouble. I wasn’t surprised to see you, but I kind of wish it were under different circumstances. As for Monica ... I feel bad because I don’t feel anything for her. I don’t even like her, but I kept her around. That doesn’t exactly make me a good person.”
“You’re the best person I know.” I meant it. “Everybody makes mistakes. You need to talk to Monica. However this goes, she deserves your honesty. She’s a terrible person as far as I can tell — and her eyebrows look absolutely hilarious — but it’s not okay to purposely hurt her.”
“I agree. Your safety took priority for the morning. Now I’m going to carb up and handle her the way I should’ve weeks ago. I won’t leave her twisting in the wind.”
I wanted to ask what would come after, if there was a chance for something to happen between us. Now was not the time. Once the dust settled and Roy’s killer was found we could think about other things ... if either of us even wanted that. My emotions were so tangled I could barely see straight.
“So ... lunch.”
“Lunch,” he agreed, getting to his feet. “By the way, I put that gross flower box on the balcony. The fact that you were letting the cat go in that is beyond disgusting. I scooped his litter, too, and made sure he had a bowls of food and water.”
“You really have been industrious.”
“I’m a man of many talents,” he agreed.
He showed me the new lock on the stairway door as we headed down. He’d gone all out, spared no expense, and I was grateful. Grandpa was sitting in a booth when we entered the café. Hunter headed directly for him.
“This is a fortuitous turn of events,” he said, sliding into the seat across from Grandpa, who was buried in his newspaper.
Grandpa’s scowl was evident when he looked up from the day’s headlines. “I thought you left hours ago.”
“Just to pick up the blinds for the doors upstairs. I ordered them yesterday and they came in today. You’ll be happy to know that your granddaughter now has a state-of-the-art security system. Nobody can get to her upstairs.”
“Those doors are glass, son. If someone truly wants to go after her, they will.” Grandpa stared at him for a moment and then sighed. “Thank you for taking care of her. It never occurred to me there was something to worry about.”
“I just want her safe.” Hunter patted the booth seat next to him and I slid into the spot, holding my breath as he and Grandpa stared each other down. “Now we need to talk about serious matters.”
“Because the potential murder of my granddaughter isn’t serious?”
“You know why I’m here,” Hunter pressed. “More importantly, I know why you’ve been hiding from me.”
Grandpa scorched me with a dark look. “Really? And why do you think I’ve been hiding from you? I haven’t, by the way. I don’t hide from anybody.”
Hunter lowered his voice. “I know about Tina. I know she had Roy’s baby. I know you feel guilty for suggesting she take the job. Before you go crazy and start yelling at Stormy, you should know that I knew about Roy being Dakota’s father before she